According to Yemeni officials, at least 63 people have been
killed in a suicide bomb attack during a rehearsal for a military parade in
Sana'a. A suicide bomber, reportedly wearing an army uniform, detonated a bomb
among a group of soldiers at al-Sabin Square, near the presidential palace.
Witnesses reported that the remains of the victims were
scattered across the Square, as ambulances rushed to the area to take the dozens
of wounded to hospital. This latest attack has been the deadliest in the capital
since President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi took power in
February.
In recent months, there have been almost daily casualties in
battles in the mountainous southern desert and towns between government forces,
backed by US military advisers, and militants linked to
al-Qa'ida. Sana'a, however, has been relatively quiet up to
now. Some suggest that the latest attack is a message to the new president the
he can expect more confrontations between the army and the militants.
Speaking about the incident, Col Amin
al-Alghabati said: “We were in a parade, suddenly there was a huge
explosion. Dozens of our men were killed. We tried to help them…The suicide
bomber was dressed in a military uniform. He had a belt of explosives
underneath.”
Yemen's Defence Minister Nasser Ahmed and the
army chief-of-staff were reportedly in the Square at the time, but were not
hurt. According to medical officials quoted by AFP news agency
at least 96 soldiers had been killed and 300 wounded, who they said were being
treated in seven hospitals across Sana'a.
Yemeni military personnel had been practising for a parade for
National Unity Day on Tuesday 22nd May, which marks the anniversary of the 1990
unification of the Marxist People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, also known as
South Yemen, and the Yemen Arab Republic, known as North Yemen.
Today's attack comes just over a week after the military
launched an offensive against Islamist militants linked to al-Qa'ida in
the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in the southern province of Abyan.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Sources: BBC News, Reuters, AFP
For more news and expert analysis about Yemen, please see Yemen Focus.
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